Title 49—Transportation--Volume 1
PART 582—INSURANCE COST INFORMATION REGULATION
§ 582.1   Scope.
This part requires automobile dealers to make available to prospective purchasers information reflecting differences in insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger motor vehicles based upon differences in damage susceptibility and crashworthiness, pursuant to section 201(e) of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (15 U.S.C. 1941(e)), herein “the Cost Savings Act.”
§ 582.2   Purpose.
The purpose of this part is to enable prospective purchasers to compare differences in auto insurance costs for the various makes and models of passenger motor vehicles, based upon differences in damage susceptibility and crashworthiness, and to realize any savings in collision insurance resulting from differences in damageability, and any savings in medical payment insurance resulting from differences in crashworthiness.
§ 582.3   Definitions.
(a) Statutory definitions. All terms used in this part which are defined in section 2 of the Cost Savings Act are used as so defined.
(b) Definitions used in this part. (1) Automobile dealer means any person who engages in the retail sale of new automobiles as a trade or business.
(2) Collision insurance means insurance that reimburses the insured party for physical damage to his property resulting from automobile accidents.
(3) Insurance cost means the insurance premium rate, as expressed in appropriate indices, for collision and medical payment, including personal injury protection in no-fault states.
(4) Medical payment insurance means insurance that reimburses the insured party for medical expenses sustained by himself, his family, and his passengers in automobile accidents.
§ 582.4   Requirements.
(a) Each automobile dealer shall make available to prospective purchasers, without charge, the information specified in § 582.5, at each location where he or she offers new vehicles for sale.
(b) Each automobile dealer shall maintain a sufficient quantity of booklets containing the information specified in § 582.5 to assure that they are available for retention by prospective purchasers.
(c) The booklets shall be revised to reflect the updated data published by NHTSA each year within 30 days of NHTSA's publication of the data in the Federal Register.
§ 582.5   Information form.
The information made available pursuant to § 582.4 shall be presented in writing in the English language and in not less than 10-point type. It shall be presented in the format set forth below, and shall include the complete explanatory text and the updated data published annually by NHTSA.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has provided the information in this booklet in compliance with Federal law as an aid to consumers considering the purchase of a new vehicle. The booklet compares differences in insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger cars, station wagons/passenger vans, pickups, and utility vehicles on the basis of damage susceptibility. However, it does not indicate a vehicle's relative safety.
The following table contains the best available information regarding the effect of damage susceptibility on insurance premiums. It was taken from data compiled by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) in its December [YEAR TO BE INSERTED] Insurance Collision Report, and reflects the collision loss experience of passenger cars, utility vehicles, light trucks, and vans sold in the United States in terms of the average loss payment per insured vehicle year for [THREE APPROPRIATE YEARS TO BE INSERTED]. NHTSA has not verified the data in this table.
The table represents vehicles' collision loss experience in relative terms, with 100 representing the average for all passenger vehicles. Thus, a rating of 122 reflects a collision loss experience that is 22 percent higher (worse) than average, while a rating of 96 reflects a collision loss experience that is 4 percent lower (better) than average. The table is not relevant for models that have been substantially redesigned for [YEAR TO BE INSERTED], and it does not include information about models without enough claim experience.
Although many insurance companies use the HLDI information to adjust the “base rate” for the collision portion of their insurance premiums, the amount of any such adjustment is usually small. It is unlikely that your total premium will vary more than ten percent depending upon the collision loss experience of a particular vehicle.
If you do not purchase collision coverage or your insurance company does not use the HLDI information, your premium will not vary at all in relation to these rankings.
In addition, different insurance companies often charge different premiums for the same driver and vehicle. Therefore, you should contact insurance companies or their agents directly to determine the actual premium that you will be charged for insuring a particular vehicle.
Please Note: In setting insurance premiums, insurance companies mainly rely on factors that are not directly related to the vehicle itself (except for its value). Rather, they mainly consider driver characteristics (such as age, gender, marital status, and driving record), the geographic area in which the vehicle is driven, how many miles are traveled, and how the vehicle is used. Therefore, to obtain complete information about insurance premiums, you should contact insurance companies or their agents directly.
Insurance companies do not generally adjust their premiums on the basis of data reflecting the crashworthiness of different vehicles. However, some companies adjust their premiums for personal injury protection and medical payments coverage if the insured vehicle has features that are likely to improve its crashworthiness, such as air bags and automatic seat belts.
Test data relating to vehicle crashworthiness and rollover ratings are available from NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). NCAP test results demonstrate relative frontal and side crash protection in new vehicles, and relative rollover resistance. Information on vehicles that NHTSA has tested in the NCAP program can be obtained from http://www.safercar.gov or by calling NHTSA's toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153).
If you would like more details about the information in this table, or wish to obtain the complete Insurance Collision Report, please contact HLDI directly, at: Highway Loss Data Institute, 1005 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22201, Tel: (703) 247-1600.